Clothes stick



. 1,550,556 w. s. MAYO CLOTHESQSTICK Filed June 9, 1923 5 INVENTUE j? WILL/A1 15 NAYU.

FER

Patented Aug 18, 1925.

outrun srarss' WILLIAM s; MAYO, on KEITHSBUBG, ILLINOIS.

cno'rnns STICK.

Application filed. June 9,

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. MAYo, a citizen of the United States, residing at Keithsburg, in the county of Mercer and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Clothes Stick, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in clothes sticks which are commonly used in household laundry work, and the objects of my invention are: First, to provide a suitable clothes stick possessing the advantages of a single point, yet divided linearly into halves connectedly secured to each other at one end, and with other means attached for that purpose, in such manner as to render said halves secured together as a clamp suitable for holding a cloth or to pick up an article and hold it suspended without the necessity of constant gripping by the hand; second, to provide a clothes stick possessing all the advantages of the ordinary clothes stick capable of being used as a clamp or forceps suitable for picking up articles which are submerged in water of any temperature without the necessity of wetting, or danger of scalding, the hands,

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figures 1 and 2 are respectively plan views in side elevation of the clothes stick illustrating its workings. v

Figure 3 is a broken portion of one of. the halves or clamp members of the clothes stick in side elevation showing the clamp lock attached, further illustrating its closed and open positions. 7 r

Figure 4. is an end view of the clamp lock.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Stick members 1 and 2 form the ground work of my invention, and may be made of any suitable material, but preferably of wood. I

In formation, members 1 and 2 have their outsides 11 rounded and their insides 12 flat, and are mounted with their flat sides 12 facing each other.

Members 1 and 2 are each formed with a straight shank portion at their upper ends, which straight shank portions are shown as 1 in member 1, and as 2 in member 2; and immediately below said straight shank portions and continuing therefrom, each menr 1923. Serial No. 644,428.

her 1 and 2 has a bowed portion 1 in memher 1, and; 2 in member 2, terminating in points 1. and 2, said bowed portions 1 and 2 are each convexed outwardly, their concave inner surfaces facing each other, their points 1. and 2 touching, thus forming a hollow inside space suitable to hold a fold of clothing, when a garment is picked up.

The rear ends of members 1 and 2 are respectively securely attached by any suitable means to the respective ends 3 and 3 of a horse-shoe shaped ribbon spring 3, provided for such purpose, in such manner as, to permit members 1 and 2 to divergingly parallel each other,v and it will be observed that when members 1 and 2 are so attached to ribbon spring 3, and not in use or locked, the members 1 and 2 stand flaringly as shown in Figure 1.

Unto one of said members 1 and 2, at or near the rear end of said member, is attached to the end 3 or 3 of ribbon 3, and with the same attaching means, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. clamp lock 6, which clamp, lock 6 is formed of any suitable material preferably of wire, having an eye 5 suitable to attach the same to member 1 or 2, which eye 5 is bent in the extremity of a shank 6 which shank 6 of clamp lock 6 is provided at its other extremity with a clamp hook 9 and near its middle is provided with a pair of right angularly extending arms 7 and 8, each of which said arms 7 and 8 have their outward extremities right angularly bent into projections 'Z and 8 said projections extending in a direction transverse to the direction of said shank, and opposite the direction of hook 9 the projection of arm 7 being shown as 7* and its shank as W, and the projection of arm 8 being shown as 8 and its shank as 8*.

The said projections 7 and 8 of arms 7 and 7 and 8 and 8 are of suiiicient length that when members 1 and 2 are pressed together and clamp lock 6 is thrown out of ribbon back 3, that they catch and hold members 1 and 2 with their right angularly bent blunt ends 1 and 2 approximately together.

The deflections of the parts of shank 6* and the projection 9 at one of its extremities, and the eyelet 4: fastening means at its other extremity, and the projection 7 are all shown in Figure 3, to illustrate the work'- ing of the lock clamp 6, when in use.

I claim:

In clothes tongs, a pair of similarly formed legs secured at one end to the ends of a ribbon spring curved to hold the legs 5 approximately parallel, and a look device for holding the legs in operative position, comprising a shank pivoted at one end in side the rear end of one of said legs and carrying near its central portion oppositely extending arms terminating in right angu larly formed projections to engage the outside portions of said legs, said shank at its opposite end being formed with a hook adapted to engage said spring when said device is reversed.

lVILLIAM S. MAYO. 

